Defend him
by Fardarrig
Summary: Humanstuck. As a child, Kankri defended Cronus against bullies. As a teenager, Cronus will repay the favor. Two parts.


Cronus remembered the first time he met Kankri very well.

Flinging his hands out to catch himself, the twelve-year-old yelped as he was shoved onto rough pavement, knees and palms bloody from the first push. Maybe he should stop standing? But as soon as that thought came, a foot made contact with his side, and the Ampora gasped, pain shooting through his ribs.

"Fuck, you gonna cry, _Potter_?" The nickname was sneered, and Cronus cringed as he was kicked again, knowing better than to respond. It only made it last longer; it was better to be as unobtrusive as possible, and just take what he was given. They'd get bored soon enough. "Come on, you can answer. We're all friends here."

The pair harassing him were quite fond of this game; after moving into the neighborhood the previous summer, he'd almost instantly been labeled victim, apparently. Or so he assumed; Cronus wasn't entirely sure what made him stand out, aside from his lack of tact and fascination with fantasy. The two boys were probably about fourteen, maybe two years above him, and had only recently made the switch from verbal to physical attacks, though he'd already lost a pair of glasses to the harassment.

The smaller of the douchebags hung one his books in front of his face, waving it slightly. "This yours?" What a prick. He knew perfectly well it was, considering he'd knocked it out of his hands. "I said," The book was pulled back, only to slam against his face. Pain made him cry out, despite knowing it was what they wanted, and he heard them laugh as blood began to drip from his nose over his mouth. He definitely shouldn't have splurged on that hardcover. "Is it yours."

"Fuck off," Cronus choked out, and the laughter stopped abruptly, a hand finding his untidy hair and forcing his head up.

"What the Hell did you just say, you little faggot?" And Cronus could see him pulling back his arm, getting ready to swing…

And a rock struck him in the back of the head, hard enough that he released the Ampora, expression shocked. Well, he wasn't the only one. Cronus gaped openly, eyes shifting to a small figure dressed in crimson about a dozen feet off.

"Hey!" His voice was piping and clearly angry, and the boy threw another stone, hitting the other assailant. "Get off of him!"

"You little shit," the inbred hit first stood up, and the size difference was evident even from a distance; the kid in red didn't stand a chance. Fuck. Fuck, fuck. Cronus had enjoyed his aid, however unexpected it was, but he hadn't really wanted to bring anyone else into it. Maybe he'd run and get out of here before they caught him.

Still, the kid seemed unfazed as they began towards him, whipping another smooth stone in warning at their feet. "_Domine Deus, amo te super omnia-_ "

They hesitated, confused by the unfamiliar tongue, looking at each other. "The fuck is he saying?"

"_Proximum meum propter te, quia tu es summum, infinitum_," The child continued, voice sweet and trilling, clearly not intimidated as he strode towards the larger boys, pulling another rock from his pocket. Cronus was amazed to see the pair step back in response, evidently unwilling to be near the boy speaking in tongues. "_Et perfectissimum bonum, omni dilectione dignum_."

He was getting close, now, and the pair were clearly getting freaked out, backing away even past Cronus. Still, the kid didn't stop, voice raising in emphasis. "_In hac caritate vivere_," Here he paused, and a malicious smile spread across his face, raising a small hand to point to the pair, eyes narrowed hatefully and voice cruel. "_Mori statuo_."

They were fucking out of there, stumbling over each other in their haste to escape the witch boy, who stood frozen, hand outstretched, until they'd vanished around someone's house. And then he lowered his arm to his side, dipping his head slightly, voice solemn. "Amen."

Now that he was close, Cronus could see he was wearing a bright sweater, the fiery red that had stood out from across the street. As the stranger offered his hand, the wounded nerd stared at him dumbly, nose still dripping slowly. The kid was even smaller than he was. "Are you alright? I didn't scare you, did I?" The boy inquired, obviously concerned, brows creased. "I'm Kankri; my father is the Pastor in the new Church down the road."

"Uh," Cronus mentally slapped himself; he was so fucking inept, there was a cute bo- potential friend talking to him, and he couldn't even manage to speak properly. Grabbing the other boy's hand, he struggled to his feet, surprised once more when Kankri wrapped an arm around his waist to help support him. "I'm Cronus. You… didn't have to do that."

"Yeah, I did," The dark-haired boy frowned, looking in the direction the two teens had fled. "Anyway, I didn't do much. I just prayed, and they, as my father would say, 'revealed their true natures.'" He shrugged a bit, dismissive. "Do you think you can stand by yourself for a moment? I'll collect your things."

After Cronus confirmed he was capable of standing, Kankri dropped to his knees, setting to gather his books and glasses, as well as a few stray pencils that had rolled out of his backpack when it had been ripped off his shoulders. And then he was looping the bulky thing over skinny arms, brushing off the Ampora's protests on heaviness. "It's fine. I'm stronger than I look."

And then he smiled.

Yeah. Cronus remembered falling in love.

* * *

idfk know much about prayers but the one aggressively stated above is called actus caritatis or "act of charity" and states, according to the magic of google, that "i forgive all who have injured me, and ask pardon of all whom i have injured" which was kankri's cute way of saying sorry for hurting them, though he wasn't really.


End file.
